Hawaiian Holdings had also sought the Haneda takeoff and landing rights with a proposal to offer service from Kona, Hawaii.

The Transportation Department said United’s flight from San Francisco “would introduce a new U.S. carrier at Haneda and would promote competition by giving business and leisure travelers an additional choice for connecting service.”

In a statement, Chicago-based United said it looked forward to completing the approval process for the Haneda service.

The route is part of an open-skies accord between the United States and Japan that allows four daily roundtrip flights at Haneda. The other flights are operated by Hawaiian from Honolulu; and Delta Air Lines from Los Angeles and Seattle, the Transportation Department’s statement said.